Report from Rome, scagliola doorways

While on this research trip to Italy, I have encountered many examples of scagliola produced between the 16th - 18th centuries. I was really not prepared to see this work and it really swept me off my feet. The first encounter was as surprise, at the National Roman Museum - Palazzo Altemps. The seat of the National Roman Museum at Palazzo Altemps houses important collections of antiquities consisting of Greek and Roman sculptures that in the 16th and 17th centuries belonged to various families of the Roman nobility. The scagliola was located on three of thew many doorways in the Palace, most were either painted to look like marble, or actual marble. 

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A truly fantastic example.  this was also my first experience with the Italian style of painting marble. I became very interested in this. here is the painted doorway that was to mimic the scagliola. the painting style is much more impressionistic, and according to scagliola artist Walter Cipriani, the Italian way to paint marble is to channel the feeling of the marble, not to directly copy it. 

Around a corner was the second example  of a scagliola doorway, each example seem to be made by different artist. 

This example was much more erratic and wild.  Finally this gentle work: